Bartlett Lake Glacier Bay National Park Hike Guide
Trail Summary: Bartlett Lake is an out and back hike located in Gustavus, Alaska. The hike is about a 5 minute walk from Glacier Bay National Park and is heavily used by visitors of the park. Although you don’t gain much elevation during your hike, expect a slow going trail up to the lake itself. You will pass through several marshes, bogs and small creeks on your way up to the lake. The trail is typical hiking for this area of Alaska with lots of exposed roots, moss and long grass but it is easy to follow. There are bears, moose and other animals in the area, so pack accordingly.
Bartlett Lake Glacier Bay Quick Facts
Bartlett Lake Trail Rating: ★★★ (3/5 Stars)
Distance: 9 Miles RT
Elevation Start: 405 ft
Highest Point of Hike: 522 ft
Total Elevation Gain: 560 ft
Estimated Time to Complete: 4-5 Hours RT
Difficulty: Moderate What does this mean?
Class: Class 1
Season: Year Round – Expect snow November– March
Directions to Bartlett Lake
Trailhead: Bartlett Lake & River trailhead
Getting Here: From the 4 corners in Gustavus, take Gustavus Road for a mile to Mountain View Road on your right. After 2.8 miles, continue left on to park road. After another 4 miles, you will see the trailhead on your right. If heading to the trail from Glacier Bay National Park, walk out of the park and past the visitor center down the road until you see the trailhead on your left. It is about a 10 minute walk from the lodge. You can enter Bartlett Lake and River trailhead into your navigation app.
Fee: None
Parking: There is a small free parking lot at the trailhead. The lot can fit about 5-10 cars and will rarely, if ever, fill up. There are no bathrooms at the trailhead, so plan accordingly.
Dogs: Bartlett Lake is a dog friendly trail. Regardless of the time of year though, expect your dog to get wet and muddy as you pass through many sources of water up to the lake.
Camping: I suppose you could backcountry camp at Bartlett Lake, but I would not recommend it. If you are staying in Gustavus and want to camp, head over to Glacier Bay National Park which is about a 5 minute walk from the trailhead. The campground there is free to use, has multiple food caches, wood for fires, and designated camping areas which provide plenty of privacy.
Make it a Loop: Bartlett Lake is an out and back hike. However, if you want to add another hike in the same area, you could take the Bartlett River trail which adds a couple of miles to this hike and starts from the same trailhead (you will pass the Bartlett Lake intersection on your way up to Bartlett Lake).
Trail X Factors: Weather
Anytime you hike in Southeastern Alaska, the weather is going to be the biggest X-Factor for you. Expect rain and clouds and if you do not get that, you are lucky. With wet weather, the trail will be a lot more slippery and leave your feet soaked to the bone, even with the most waterproof hiking boots. If the clouds are hanging low, your views at the lake will not be great.
Hike Tip(s): If you plan on hiking up to Bartlett Lake, be prepared with the right gear. I would not hike this trail without rain gear and some form of waterproof or resistant boots. Having an extra pair of socks wouldn’t hurt either. If you have experience hiking with bears, than this might be an overkill or TMI for you. However, if you do not, I recommend making noise while you are hiking. Unlike most hikes in the lower 48, trails here are not super popular. This means that you might be the first person on the trail on any given day and there easily could be animals in the area. While bears, wolves and moose are not outwardly aggressive towards humans, you don’t want to throw them a surprise party on the trail. Make your presence known by making noise along the way. If it makes you feel better, bring a can of bear spray which can be a last defense if you are charged by a bear. If you have hiked with bears before, you can skip the following section.
Black bears vs brown bears:
Black bears are the more curious of the two types of bears. You have probably seen one of these before. If you see one, make a lot of noise (talk to it, clap your hands, etc.) and make yourself as big as possible, it will usually spook and run away. If that does not work, they do sometimes use bluff charges IE a way to scare you away. Do not run in this case because it will result in the bear thinking it is prey or a game. Both will not end great for you. If the black bear does fully charge you, you will need to protect yourself/flee if possible, as they will not stop. This is very rare to occur and will only happen if the bear is feeling threatened.
Brown Bears: Unlike their smaller cousins, the brown bear is a much larger animal. Brown bears are common in southeastern Alaska and if you see one, do not pee your pants. Even though they look menacing, brown bears are not out to attack you. Just like black bears, they are generally harmless. If you see one, make your presence known. Bears do not like to be spooked. Brown bears may also bluff or fully charge, just like black bears. If a brown bear charges you, do not move. Stand your ground. Most likely it will be a bluff, but if not you will find that out pretty quickly. If you are fully charged by the bear, get into a fetal position and play dead. Try to roll onto your stomach to protect your vital organs. If the bear does start to sniff/maul you, play dead and try not to make noises. Most accounts of those who survive bear attacks are because the bear thought the human was dead and left them alone. Super light reading here, I know.
Best Views: Let’s talk about photos now, huh? Bartlett Lake offers many opportunities for enchanted green forest shots, but not much else. I would leave the DSLR at home for this one unless the forecast is calling for clear skies. There is always a change for spotting animals and birds, in which case, a longer range lens might be clutch here.
Bartlett Hike Route
Gear Needed
- Waterproof Hiking Boots/Shoes
- Rain Jacket
- Mickey’s Mountain Kit
- Water / Snack
- Optional: Bear Spray
- Optional: Hiking Poles
- Optional: Gaiters – especially in springtime
- Optional: Camera
Our Trip to Bartlett Lake: June 2017
When Jackie and I planned our trip to Glacier Bay National Park, we really did not target specific hikes before arriving. We figured, let’s get on-site and see how we felt and what the weather was like. What we did not realize about Glacier Bay National Park is that there are really not too many hikes to choose from (at least from the visitor’s center area). On the first day of our trip, we decided to knock out the longest trail of the park: Bartlett Lake.
The weather was not ideal (rain in the forecast and cloudy), but if we waited for a clear day, we could have been there for years. The walk to the trailhead from the park was about 10 minutes and it was very easy to find the start. We started down the trail and were whisked from the lone road in the park to an enchanted forest covered with moss, lichen and green as far as the eyes could see.
I have to admit, for the first several miles, I was very spooked about the thought of running into a bear (there was a sign at the trailhead saying that brown bears were active in the area). I have hiked in areas with black bears before but never brown bears. In fact, before this trip, I had never even seen a bear before! As the trail winded its way through the thick forest, I was on the constant lookout for bears and tried to make as much noise as possible without being obnoxious. Eventually, I decided to use a trick I have done in the past: play music on my phone. This eased my mind for a while.
Even though it sounds crazy, I have envisioned a situation where a bear charges me and is standing on top of me, but I am able to play some Skrillex from my phone. I know that a bear would hear EDM and have no idea WTF is going on and hopefully run away.
Anyway, back to the hike. The music helped ease my mind, but the exposed roots and wet trail made the trip very slow going. We were not exactly sure how long it was to Bartlett Lake, we had read several conflicting numbers. After about 3, we hiked over this small hill we had been following for most of the hike to this point. From here, the trail dried out a bit and we were back on more solid ground. We ran into another couple of hikers who said the lake was close, so we knew we were in the final stretch.
About 20 minutes later, we arrived at the lake the views were stunning…of the clouds. Jackie and I were both disappointed, since we knew the lake would be normally surrounded by mountain views. Even though we couldn’t see much, Bartlett Lake was still a very beautiful and serene place. It was so quiet, that it almost sounded loud. We drank some water and eventually decided to head back to the National Park.
The hike back to the trailhead was fairly uneventful until we were about a mile from the road. Jackie and I were deep in conversation aka quoting the same Lil Dicky song over and over again. We were passing by a small lake and I looked to my left. Immediately, I noticed a female moose enjoying her dinner. She seemed to be just as startled by us as we were by her. She couldn’t have been more than 20 yards away. Jackie was about 30 feet ahead of me and was not in the mood to hang around. I slowly took out my camera and snapped a couple of shots. The moose was just eating some greens from the lake and slowly walking by us. She showed no signs of aggression, but did make a huffing noise at me. I figured this was her polite way of saying back the F up and let me eat. Message received.
For the short remainder of our hike, we talked about how lucky we seem to get with moose. In about 2 years, we had seen 7 or 8 of them from about 10-20 yards away with no signs of aggression. This would be a sign of good things to come on our trip with all kinds of animals. Overall, Bartlett Lake was a decent hike but unless you have multiple days in the park or love hiking, I would not recommend it. The lake itself was beautiful, but the other 8+ miles were somewhat monotonous and boring in parts.
